Soto still shooting for All-Star break return

SEATTLE -- Catcher Geovany Soto, who has been on the disabled list since undergoing surgery on his right knee at the end of Spring Training, is on his first road trip with the Rangers and still hoping to return after the All-Star break.

Soto is running, doing agility drills and has also started swinging the bat again. He is hitting off a tee right now with soft toss being the next step before he graduates to full batting practice. The final step would be to resume squatting as a catcher.

"They kind of slowly have me doing baseball-specific stuff," Soto said. "So far everything feels great."

With Soto on the disabled list and J.P. Arencibia with Triple-A Round Rock, Chris Gimenez and Robinson Chirinos have been splitting the catching duties. Since May 21, when Arencibia was sent to Triple-A, Gimenez and Chirinos have combined to hit .341 with three home runs and 16 RBIs over 23 games.